Friday Harbor falls to Mountaineers, 61-36 | Boys Basketball

Never mind the final score.

The Wolverines took a giant step forward despite a decisive 61-36 loss to a towering and senior-laden Mount Baker squad Tuesday in Turnbull Gym.

"We're still a work in progress," Friday Harbor Coach Rod Turnbull said. "But that actually was our best game of the year so far. We just didn't shoot too well."

Trailing by just three points after the first period, at 17-14, the Wolverines kept pace with the Division 2A Mountaineers early in the second quarter and had a chance to draw within four points midway through the period.

But after a missed shot, the Mountaineers(6-2) took advantage of a "mental lapse" by the Wolverines on the defensive end, buried an open three-pointer and bumped their lead up to nine.

They led 37-22 at the half.

"We could've been down by four but instead we were down by nine," Turnbull said of that pivotal second-period exchange.

The Wolverines, who fell to 2-5, never recovered.

They also had few answers in the paint against the Mountaineers' 6-foot 4-inch senior center Zach Stalin, who led all scorers with 27 points. Mount Baker's Chris Tanis and Addison King contributed 10 points apiece.

Senior Roy Taylor tallied 13 points to lead the Wolverines on the offensive end, and Preston Ukra and freshman C.J. Woods each added seven points.

Next

The Wolverines host Darrington Tuesday; tip off is 4 p.m., followed by three consecutive games, beginning Jan. 7 at Mount Vernon Christian.

Contact Journal of the San Juans Editor Scott Rasmussen at srasmussen@sanjuanjournal.com or 1-360-378-5696.

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